Almost a year ago, I wrote about how the Detroit Red Wings tend to mirror Disney’s original version of Mulan.
Comparing then to now, we have seen significant progress from the Detroit Red Wings. In other ways, we’ve not only seen stagnant progress but steps backward.
Even the great Jimmy Devellano says that rebuilds are a fickle process. Even with players who became some of the greatest the National Hockey League (NHL) has ever known, it still took him eight years to win a Stanley Cup. Eight years.
We are only in year six of Steve Yzerman’s meticulous rebuild.
When he started, there was maybe one player with an equivalence to the Detroit Red Wings of the past. Captain Dylan Larkin is a completely different player than his predecessor, yet he still seems ultra-competitive. As competitive as Yzerman? Time will only tell.
Yzerman didn’t have a Nicklas Lidström or Sergei Fedorov that he could draft, but he still has drafted well. Naysayers will naysay, and to them, I say maybe a new perspective will do wonders for your world. There wasn’t even a player who could fill a role similar to Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning (who Yzerman had from day one).
I know I have been guilty of being negative in regard to the Yzerplan and its progression. Today, I wanted to build on the positive side of things.
Honorable mentions for Most Valuable Player (MVP) so far
There have been numerous candidates who could argue their case for the MVP of the team.
Of course, Moritz Seider is at the top of the honorable mentions. Each night, he plays the most minutes. Always he’s fighting with the best of the best in the NHL. Without excuses or complaints, Seider astounds me.
I have trouble getting out of bed some mornings from just a light workout. Meanwhile, he’s hammered left and right, so tired that he might fall over in the middle of the ice without anyone else around, and has to go out nearly every other shift to face nightmares on blades.
To anyone who wants more out of Seider, I pose a question. Where would the Detroit Red Wings be without Seider?
Sadly, my brain takes me to dark places sometimes, and I have swam through the darkness that is this question previously. It’s not good. No positive outcomes exist when the Detroit Red Wings if they are without Seider.
For this alone, he has a very strong case to be the MVP.
Another name that I’d like to throw in the ring may seem a bit premature. Although, I’d argue that he has taken a shambles of defensive core and helped solidify 20-25 minutes of effective hockey each night for the Detroit Red Wings. For almost half a game now, the Detroit Red Wings can trot out a defensive pair that not only can keep up with the best of the best in the NHL but can dictate play against them. It’s not consistent, but Simon Edvinsson and Seider have glimpses into what the future will look like.
Edvinsson is a bit of a spark on the ice at times, too. Not afraid to make a long-range pass or carry the puck up the ice (even into the offensive zone and beyond). Although he gets bitten from time to time, Edvinsson’s a smart player. It’s imperative that he’s allowed the freedom to make those mistakes now, push the envelope to see how far he can (or shouldn’t go) in any given situation. As he hones his craft, the Detroit Red Wings will have an impressive player for decades to come.
As a young player who is being asked to do a ridiculous amount where he’s not only fulfilling but exceeding expectations already, it's impressive. To provide a confidant for Seider (even though both Edvinsson and Seider deserve to have effective veteran leadership instead, one isn’t available for either, let alone both) is an even greater feat. No more is Seider trying to compensate for a partner’s weaknesses (the biggest thing Edvinsson needs to improve on is his decision-making and consistency, two things that will improve over time naturally). As Seider and Edvinsson figure out each other’s tendencies, too, and what works best for them, their output will improve as well.
However, one player has surpassed these previously named players.
Here’s my MVP for the Detroit Red Wings (so far)
Before I mention who, as I think everyone knows who that player is, I wanted to mention our captain again. Larkin has had a tough year. The difficult year doesn’t make me appreciate him or his efforts any less. Every night, he goes on the ice, plays with everything he has, and is our engine. There isn’t anything more that I could ask of Larkin right now except to keep doing what he’s doing. Our number one center, leader, and the guy that gets this team running, he’s a joy to watch.
Now, without further adieu, the MVP for the Detroit Red Wings is pretty obvious to me. It’s not that other players aren’t worthy of the spot; they are, but Lucas Raymond is on a different level.
I knew Raymond would be a great piece for the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings, but I didn’t know how good or how quickly. My, have I been pleasantly surprised.
Raymond, like Larkin, Edvinsson, and Seider (along with other players), is a warrior in every sense of the word. Of all the players who get picked on, Raymond seems to top the list.
Though he’s added tons of muscle over the last few seasons, he’s still a smaller player that teams tend to go after. In part because he’s smaller (easier to pick on), but also, Raymond is the most effective player on the Detroit Red Wings.
This effectiveness is what elevates Raymond to the MVP spot.
If Larkin’s the engine, Raymond seems to be the turbo, if you will. The switch that takes things to the next level. It’s a blast and privilege watching Raymond play hockey regardless of how the Detroit Red Wings do (either in a single game or the entire season). We are darn lucky to have him.
Raymond is kind of like the title character in Mulan. You have all these “teammates” who sometimes are helpful, other times not so much (as seen in the training montage video for “I’ll Make a Man Outta You” — the best Disney song ever, don’t @ me).
Raymond is a young player but is a true leader in every sense of the word. He inspires his teammates and fans, instilling an undying can-do attitude in the darkest moments.
Much like the montage clip, the Detroit Red Wings have faced their struggles. Mulan finds it difficult to keep going, whether it’s hand-to-hand combat, attempting to carry a stick with two heavy bags on each end while running, fishing with her hands (at one point, she grabs a fellow trainee’s foot instead of a fish), or climbing up a pole to retrieve an arrow (something no one else could achieve either).
Eventually, Mulan overcomes her struggles. As importantly, she helps inspire and unite her group of trainees.
Raymond was never bad, so that partly separates him from Mulan at the beginning of the montage, yet the points remain. Since joining the Detroit Red Wings in 2021-22, he’s been an undeniable catapult of energy for the team. His teammates get energy from just watching him play, either directly or indirectly.
Some nights, he’s wearing an “A” on his sweater, something that should be solidified at this point for him and Seider, but for some reason, it is not.
As Raymond is faced with an insurmountable task of playing effectively as a two-way, top-six forward in the NHL on a nightly basis (similar to the Hun Army Mulan and her crew face in her movie), Raymond finds time, space, and points in an unforgiving world. He brings ingenuity, determination, and skill, all aspects that play a role in Mulan’s success as well.
Although we are still in the midst of the Detroit Red Wings’ own montage video (or so I hope, and it only gets better from here), the Detroit Red Wings still have a promising future, no matter what anyone says. So long as Raymond’s in the mix, there’s a hope that the Detroit Red Wings will become as swift as the coursing river, have all the force of a great typhoon with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon someday.
Breakout award for the Detroit Red Wings
Marco Kasper doesn’t quite fit into the MVP talk at this time, but that’s no slight against him or his performance on the ice.
To anyone who expects more from Kasper, I reckon your expectations are out of whack. Kasper wasn’t slated to be on the Detroit Red Wings this soon, yet here he is, making a positive impact on his team. He’s providing center depth and filling in as a number two center in just his second year in North America.
For someone who is barely scraping the surface of who he will be in the long run, Kasper is playing well for the Detroit Red Wings, and that’s all I can really ask from him. With Jonatan Berggren and Vladimir Tarasenko, my eye test is telling me that they are an offensively charged line. Although they can get stuck in their own zone too long for my liking, it’s bound to happen with the Detroit Red Wings. When the defense is struggling, every aspect of the Detroit Red Wings will be impacted.
If the defense cannot routinely and consistently end the opposition’s cycle or break the puck out of their own zone, there’s only so much that forwards can do.
Hopefully, as Kasper gets more confident and comfortable, and the defensive core improves as well, Kasper will take off both offensively and defensively. It’s a pleasure to watch him and Berggren each night that I can, as they are both so fun. They have lots of energy and love to play hockey.